Northwestern University’s first-year class has just over 1,900 enrolled students.

• The makeup of this class is in like with recent years, with an increasing number of first-gen college students and over 20% students who qualify for Pell grants.

• As in the past few admission cycles, last year's application numbers remained around 40,000, with an admit rate just over 9%.

• Also like recent years, we admitted roughly half of our incoming class through our Early Decision program.

• Academically, the class looks as strong as ever, with a growing percentage of students having graduated in the top decile of their class (close to 95%)

New Applied Learning Episodes
We know that the college application process can be stressful and confusing, and now we've added a pandemic to the mix. Enter Applied Learning. This vlog series features our admission directors talking through some of the topics we know are on your students' minds. The vlogs are not specific to Northwestern — they're designed to give more general advice as students navigate the coming months (and years!). This past Saturday, we spent some time debunking admission myths. On Saturday, October 24, we'll have a conversation about navigating admission interviews, and on October 31 we'll go global as we break down the American college search process for international students.

Live Campus Tours
We know that virtual tours just aren't the same and that a campus visit isn't always an option, even without a pandemic. We had a great time showing off Northwestern earlier this year with campus tours on YouTube and are excited to be premiering new tours on a weekly basis in the month of October. Tour premieres allow participants to chat with the tour guide and ask questions in real-time:

Wednesday, October 21, 6:00 p.m. CDT: athletics and recreation campus tour with Mary Tucker '21, a Learning & Organizational Change and Economics double major and Global Health minor on the pre-business track from Atlanta, GA
Wednesday, October 28, 6:00 p.m. CDT: Evanston tour with Andy Steiner '21, a Statistics and English double major and Entrepreneurship minor from Deerfield, IL

Undergraduate School Student Panels
We have been offering live student panels since April and have heard from many students that they want more opportunities to hear from current Wildcats who share their academic interests. This month we are hosting live, school-specific student panels in addition to ongoing school information sessions: 

Bienen School of Music Student Panels: Wednesdays in October and November

Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications Student Panel: Monday, October 19, 6:00 p.m. CDT

School of Communication Student Panel: Tuesday, October 27, 6:00 p.m. CDT 

School of Education and Social Policy Student Panel: Thursday, October 22, 6:30 p.m. CDT

The "Purple Prism" Series
This month, we launched "Purple Prism," a three-part identity-based series centering resources, experiences, and the voices of Northwestern community members. Students will take over our Instagram to show a day in their lives, answer questions, and explore significant spaces on campus as well in our Chicago and Evanston communities. Our CLAVE coordinators have already kicked off our first subseries, Purple Prism: Latinx Student Experiences, so be sure to follow us on Instagram. You'll also be able to register for the premiere (date to be announced!) of our roundtable discussion featuring Latinx/Hispanic-identifying students and staff discussing the resources, communities, and opportunities that have influenced their Northwestern experiences. Be sure to subscribe to our YouTube Channel and follow our Instagram as we announce future subseries.